JD Vance on Patriotism and Military Service

Senator JD Vance recently addressed military personnel in Virginia Beach, VA, celebrating 250 years of American history. He highlighted the military’s role in upholding the Constitution and safeguarding liberty, calling them the embodiment of the best of America. Vance expressed optimism for the next 250 years, attributing future successes to the service of these individuals.

Patriotic States in the USA

WalletHub, a personal finance company, released a survey in June ranking all 50 states by patriotism through more than a dozen indicators. Virginia topped the list, highly ranked for both military and civic engagement. The state boasts about 1,761 active-duty military personnel per 100,000 civilians, the third highest in the country, and nearly 103 veterans per 1,000 civilians.

“In order to determine where Americans have the most red, white, and blue pride on Independence Day and during the rest of the year, WalletHub compared the states across 13 key indicators of patriotism.” – Adam McCann, WalletHub Financial Writer

One of the civic highlights is Virginia’s voter turnout rate. In the 2024 presidential election, 72.9% of its residents voted, surpassing the national average of 66%. Additionally, Virginia has a high number of Peace Corps volunteers per capita, and it mandates a civics course for high school graduation.

Chip Lupo, a WalletHub analyst, stated that the most patriotic states feature a large number of armed forces members, high election participation, and significant community volunteering. These states are spread across diverse geographic regions.

Top and Bottom of the Patriotism List

Following Virginia, Montana ranked as the second-most patriotic state, largely due to a high voter turnout of 69.2% in the 2024 presidential election and the highest primary turnout in 2020. It also has a notable number of AmeriCorps volunteers and a high percentage of general organization volunteers.

Vermont, Colorado, and Oregon rounded out the top five states. Meanwhile, Arkansas was at the bottom of the rankings, joined by New York, Louisiana, and Alabama. The study suggested that, on average, the states that supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 election showed more patriotism than those that voted for President Donald Trump.

Among the largest “blue” states in 2024, Illinois ranked 37th, California 40th, and New York 49th in the survey’s patriotism metrics.

Alexander Hall, Associate Editor for Fox News Digital, contributed to this report.